Illuminated walking stick



Feb. 10, 1948.

J H. GREENE 2,435,650

ILLUMINATED WALKING STICK Filed Jan. 16, 1946 JH eerze INVENTOR.

BY M

Z YTTQRIVEV'S.

Patented Feb. 10, 1948 1 UNITED, STATES PATENT "OFFICE ILLUMINATEDWALKING STICK John H. Greene, Little Rock, Ark. 7, Application January16, Serial No. 641,544

It is generally known that" the major portions of canes used by personswho have lost their sight, andw'hich are symbolic of the blind, arewhite, while directly above the tip end of the cane is a'section coloredred.

It is therefore the primary object of the invention to provide a cane orwalking stick having means whereby the section thereof colored red, maybe illuminated and clearly visible in the dark, rendering night walkingless dangerous for the blind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a walking stick having aself-contained light, which is controlled by a switch convenientlylocated adjacent to the handle of the walking stick, to the end that theelectric current to the lamp of the device may be readily snapped on oroff by the person using the walking stick.

Still another object of the invention is to pro-- Vide electricallycontrolled heating means in circuit with the lamp of the device, adaptedto heat a section of the walking stick adjacent to the handle,indicating to the user that thelamp is lit.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a walking stickwhich will be exceptionally strong to withstand the strain to which awalking stick may be subjected, when in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing Figure 1 is an elevational View of a walkingstick constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the walking stick embodies a mainhollow section 5 which is formed with internal threads formed adjacentto its upper end, for the reception of the threaded end 6 of the handle'5, whereby the handle is removably connected to the main section 5. Thereference character 8 indicates the signalling section of the walkingstick, which may be constructed of any suitable translucent material,the section 8 being formed with a, reduced end 9 which is fitted intothe open end 2 Claims. (o1. zit-45.42)

l 2 of the main hollow section, as clearly shown by Fig. 2 of thedrawing. I

The section 8 is formed with a longitudinal bore disposed axiallythereof, and the lower end of the signalling section is reduced toreceive the extension Iii of the tip H. The tip II is formed with athreaded bore to accommodate the threaded lower end of the connectingrod [2, which is of a diameter appreciably less than the diameter of thebore of the signalling section, providing an annular light space aroundthe rod [2.

The rod [2 has its upper threaded end fitted in a threaded openingformed in the disk l3, which rests against the annular shoulder Itformed internally of the main hollow section 5. Thus it will be seenthat when the tip has been positioned against the lower end of thesignalling section 8 of the walking stick, the signalling section 8 andthe tip will be securely held to the main hollow section 5 but at thesame time the sections may be readily disconnected to facilitate repairwork on the walking stick.

The disk i3 is formed with a plurality of openings I5 which are arrangedin a circular line. Directly above the disk 13 and disposed in spacedrelation therewith, is a partition IB which forms a lamp compartment l!with the disk l3. The partition IE is formed with a threaded opening toreceive the threaded end of the lamp it which lamp also fits into thereflector l9, so that light rays from the lamp will be projecteddownwardly through the openings l5 and into the annular space within thesignalling section 8, illuminating the signalling section. It might befurther stated that the translucent material of which the signallingsection is constructed, is colored red to the end that light raysprojected through the section 8 will result in an illuminated red signalat the tip end of the cane or walking stick,

The reference character 28 indicates batteries or dry cells which arecontained in the main hollow section, the batteries being forced towardsthe lamp, by means of the coiled spring 2! that rests against thethreaded end 6 of the handle,

A switch indicated at 22 controls the electric circuit to the lamp, andis so disposed that it may be convenientl operated while the walkingstick is being carried in the hand of the user.

The reference character 23 indicates an electric resistance wire whichis mounted in the wall of the'main hollow section 5, the resistance wirebeing in circuit with the lamp so that electric energy passing throughthe lamp, will also pass into the coil, heating a section of the walkingstick, to

3 indicate to the person using the walking stick, that the lamp is litand is functioning.

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminated walking stick, comprising a main hollow section and atip section, a translucent section formed with an axial bore and beingof a distinctive color, a disk formed with openings mounted within themain hollow section at one end of the translucent section, a rodconnected to :the disk and tip section securing the 10 sections ofthewalking stick together said rod passing through the bore of thetranslucent section and being of a diameter appreciably less than thediameter of the bore, thereby-to providea light passageway around therod, and'an electric" lamp mounted above the disk and adapted to directlight rays through the fopenings-ofjheflisk and light passageway,illuminating'the translu cent section of the walking stick.

2. An illuminated walking stick, comprising a main hollow section and atip section, an annular shoulder within the main section asdisk 1havingopenings resting in the annular shoulder, adisk 5 translucent sectionconnecting the tip and main hollow section, the translucent sectionhaving a bore, a rod extending through the bore in spaced relation withthe wall thereof, and said rod being connected with the first mentioneddisk and tip, drawing the translucentsection, tip section and mainhollow section together.

JOHN H. GREENE.

REFERENCES CITED 15 The following references are of record in the NumberName Date 20 1,083,520 Burgess Jan, 6, 1914 2,245,349 Lombardi June10,1941 1,659,346 Beatty Feb. 14, 1928 2,271,190

Giaimo Jan. 27, 1942

